YC mayor, Eric Adams, met with a collective of drill and gangsta rappers to talk about the rise of gun violence and gang activity in the city. 

Late last night (February 15th), Brooklyn hard rock Maino helped facilitate the critical conversation.

Mayor Adams said that drill music has contributed to city violence in 2022 and proposed to ban the genre from social media. He said that he wanted to meet to see if there was a solution.

There’s a war going on outside, and the stats substantiate that.

According to NBC New York, shootings over the last 47 days are up 37% versus the same period in 2021. Experts note that, on average, approximately four people are shot every day.

Maino posted on his Instagram about the 11:30 pm meeting, sharing that more than a dozen men gathered to meet with the Big Apple’s chief executive.

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“There’s been a lot of talk about drill rap, drill music in New York City, connecting violence with the culture,” the “Hi Hater” rapper stated. “I just wanted to create a conversation with the mayor.”

Drill music originated in the Southside of Chicago and is distinguished by the darkness of the tracks and lyrics, a connection to street violence, and family associations. 

Rapper Chief Keef has been carrying the banner for this slower tempoed musical genre. One key drill element is that the average song ranges from 60 to 70 BPM.

The United Kingdom has a version of drill that has become popular in Europe. Other hubs for the music are Atlanta, Brooklyn, and The Bronx.

One of the most prominent names outside of Chicago was Pop Smoke, who was murdered in Los Angeles in 2020.

Among the influencers in the meeting with the mayor were famous drill stars like Fivio Foreign, B-Lovee, CEO Slow, Bucksy Luciano, and Bleezy.

As reported by AllHipHop.com, two rising drill artists, Tdott Woo and Chii Wittz, were murdered in Brooklyn over the last month. 

Adams promises this will be the first of many other conversations and that the collective is planning to make an announcement.

A supporting group working to advise the mayor on public safety issues and the arts is NYC Speaks, which will also be having conversations with the community. 

Out of these listening sessions, the hope is to reduce crime and violence.